1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the fields of image processing and medical engineering and in particular concerns an approach to determine in advance the perspective(s) that should be the basis of a downstream rendering process in order to present medical image data sets in a specific perspective on a monitor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Particularly in the field of medical engineering, it is an indispensable requirement, for example within the scope of assessing image data, that the image data sets are also presented in the relevant perspective on a monitor. The selection of the anatomical orientation and the presentation format are important factors. Medical image data are acquired by different types of acquisition apparatuses (known as modalities), for example computed tomography systems, magnetic resonance tomography systems, positron emission tomography systems, etc. Raw image data are acquired by the imaging apparatuses, and the raw image data are then transformed via different image processing processes into two-dimensional or multi-dimensional images.
For example, multi-planar reconstruction methods (MPR methods) can be used for this purpose in order to also show the presented data from other perspectives or orientations on the monitor. Depending on which medical process is to be implemented (for example a differential diagnosis or a direct assessment of the acquired image data, etc.), it is necessary to determine the respective perspective or view in which the acquired image data should be presented at the monitor.
Known methods to determine the respective orientation or perspective in which the image data should be presented are typically based on the representation of a cube or another user interface element that which the user can select from a list of text entries after a mouse click. These methods have the disadvantage that they are not optimal for user interfaces that are controlled by direct manipulation, thus interactive user interfaces or touch-sensitive surfaces (touchscreens, for example). This is because a selection of written, list-structured menus and sub-menus is most often difficult to operate for a touchscreen (since it is not precise enough). Furthermore, it is a problem that the entries to be selected are based on a text description of the perspective.
For example, if a viewer would like to see a three-dimensional MRT data set of a human head in a transverse view, selection menus for the determination of the perspective are offered to the viewer according to the aforementioned selection method according to the prior art. For example, here the viewer can select specific entries from a list structure in order to determine from which perspective the viewer would like to view the three-dimensional image series. Since 5, 6 or more perspectives are typically available, the selection can be difficult, particularly in the case of a small screen.
A further difficulty is that the list-based selection shows a written naming of technical medical terms (for example anterior-posterior, head-feet, or in the case of heart examinations, four-chamber view, two-chamber view, etc.). Since these terms are specific to a country's language, and specific image data, examination types and/or forms of assessment require a specific selection of perspectives, different display configurations are necessary depending on the modality, examination type and/or assessment, which makes the computer product expensive overall (this is in part because the technical terms must be translated into a respective language, and mix-ups can easily occur in the selection of similar menu entries, and since specific perspectives are reasonable only for certain specific examinations and make no sense for other examinations. For example, it is thus not reasonable to offer perspectives that are relevant to the heart (for example two or four chamber views) in the case of an orthopedic knee examination).
A significant disadvantage of such known methods is also that the context of the respective examination and/or finding with the respective acquired image data has not been taken into account in the perspective control.